MMMM - Taquitos!
by Abri
Summary: A devious, yet kawaii Rowen, a starved Kento, and an unwilling to cook Cye, see what developes!. Chapter 2 just got put up. Something very odd befalls Rowen, while Kento attempts to get past Cye to the oven...
1. Taquitos

Well, this is something I wrote a while ago, possible a 2 years ago. I just joined FanFiction.Net recently and this is the first story I've uploaded. Enjoy the show, and if I get any interest from review I post the second chapter! 

Read and review, or else I'll starve Kento for a week and then send him to YOUR house! Kento – "You wouldn't starve me!" Abri – "You're right…" Kento – "Ha!" Abri – "…I'm too afraid you might go mad and eat me… ~*~" *runs, no no, strategically retreats as Kento starts transforming*

It was a quiet evening at Mia's house. At least it was for about two seconds. Which is probably a new record for her house. "Kento!!!!!!!" hollered Cye. "Put me down right now or I'll…Oof!" Rowen was sitting on the couch watching TV, but now something much more entertaining was stumbling around the corner. He stared inquisitively as Kento came running around the corner with Cye over one shoulder. 

Cye was yelling as many threats as he could think of, but Kento repeatedly jumped through the air, coming down as hard as he could, so Cye's threats always ended in an 'oof' as he banged into Kento's shoulder. Finally Kento, running like a line backer, came to a halt in front of the refrigerator. Cye fell/stumbled off of Kento and glared up at his friend. Kento just smiled his big, pleading smile and looked at Cye with puppy dog eyes. 

"I said no Kento! And no, means no!" Cye folded his arms and turned his back to Kento on the final word. "What's going on?" Rowen asked, now thoroughly interested. Since Cye made no effort to answer, Kento said, "Fine! Be that way!" and turned to Rowen, "I'm dying, Rowen. I need someone to help me find food to save me from death by… of no food." Kento did his best to sound dramatic but not remembering the word starvation took him down by a few points.

"Hmmm," considered Rowen, "What do you want to eat? Or more appropriately, what don't you want to eat?" Kento jumped up and down like a little kid. "I want some of those really tasty things we had at the beach last week. Remember? They were light brown and had meat inside." "You mean the taquitos? Yeah, they **were **good. And you just heat them, right? I can make some for the both of us," Rowen said getting up. Cye, who had taken the moment to sneak toward the back door, whirled around and threw himself in front of the oven defensively.

"No! Please Rowen, have mercy! Take an arm, take a leg, take Kento, just PLEASE leave me my stove!" Cye continued to clutch the stove, while Rowen thought this over. "Am I to understand you don't like my cooking?" Rowen stared at them both, waiting for a response. "Ummmmmm…" Kento took the best answer; Cye began stroking the stove. Rowen shrugged, "Look Cye, you won't cook so that leaves me. Whether either of you like my cooking or not." 

Cye dashed in front of the freezer and started taking out the taquito box. "I never actually _said_ I wouldn't cook. You know me, I love to cook, cooking is my life... Now just back away from the fridge nice and slow Rowen." Cye's voice took on that of a cop trying to persuade a kid into handing over a gun. Rowen smiled a broad smile. "If that's the way you feel about it Cye." He snapped off the TV and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" Cye asked. "I'm sick of TV, I figured I'd go for a walk." As Rowen disappeared through the door Cye finally dared to breathe a sigh of relief. He dared too soon. "Oh, by the way Cye, since you're making them and all, make some for me too. And the others might want some as well," with that he was gone and Cye realized that he had fallen victim to a hungry, blue-haired, genius who didn't want to have to cook for himself.

I do not own any of Ronin Warriors, or any other product or refernce mentioned above that could get me sued… besides, can't sue for money I don't have anyway…


	2. Memories That Hurt...? (That and Frying ...

I made it to chapter 2! This one has less comedy than the first and more action. The way I do the memory sequence is pretty odd (Gomen!) but hopefully this will help sort out the confusion…

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Italics = Thought 

Gray words = A memory 

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Gray italics = Thoughts that took place during the memory

Thx to everyone who reviewed chapter one! 

{I don't own anything worth suing me over, so put any thoughts of cash from me out the window. And if I DO ever wind up owning the Ronins you can bet the three OAV's would be on Cartoon Network faster than Kento at an all you can eat restaurant}

Rowen smiled yet again as he congratulated himself on getting someone to make dinner. Even better, he'd gotten **Cye **to make dinner. Cye was the best cook Rowen had ever met, no, the best cook any of them had ever met. Getting him to cook was the perfect end to any type of day. 

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It's so easy though. A cold breeze hit Rowen causing him to shiver a little. He zipped up the front of his blue windbreaker and looked around. It was nearing the end of October and the days were becoming cooler and shorter. The sun was just starting to set over the lake in front of Mia's home. 

The light from the setting sun was magnificent. The sun was still a bright circle hovering what seemed a few inches above the lake, casting a perfect reflection of itself into the water. Rowen reached up a hand to shade his eyes and smiled a little at how golden his skin looked in the light. 

Rowen walked around the lake at first, then turned to a path that went between the trees of the forest and a stream from the lake. _Walking like this, I always feel so peaceful. And at the same time… _He drew a deep breath and looked above to the darkening sky. A slight shudder ran through his body. _It brings the memories back. _

"Armor of Strata!" the world spun away and only the stars were real. The armor formed a piece at a time. Once the transformation was complete he stood again in the world of the real, only now power flowed in his arms. _Always the memories come while I walk… It is the only way my mind can remind me everything that happened was real. _

PAIN! The sound of laughter… Kyura! Metallic faces staring down, weapons raised. Down they came. More pain, _can't breath_. Now the memories began to seize control. Faces, warlords, laughter, Talpa, Ryo, Sage, pain, armor, power, _it's swirling. _Rowen clutched his head in pain._Too much. Why so fast? They never come so fast. Not all at once! _

Faster they came. Talpa's voice, "Give up. You can not control me… I control you!" Ryo! He was raising his bow to Ryo! _No! Not Ryo, don't make me please!_ Ryo looking up in wonder, "Rowen?" ARROW SHOCK WAVE!!! Ryo screaming in confusion and pain. _The pain… I feel it?! _Rowen lowered to the ground moaning in pain. _What's wrong with me?? No!!! Make it stop! _Enemy, destroy, Life Force, Cye, Kento, Ancient, Anubis. The intensity grew. Rowen slumped to the ground in agony, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" 

Blackness.

Kento's eyes reflected the oven. The oven reflected Kento sitting at the table, looking very bored with his head resting on his folded arms. His head slumped lower. He blew a strand of hair off of his nose. Finally he could bear it no longer. 

__

Cye will never even notice… All I need to do is make sure he stays occupied, heh heh, and then they're all mine. The timer above the stove read 0:05. Kento had been patient. Cye hadn't had to hit him with the spoon since 0:10. Now it was time to get a reward for his good behavior.

"Let's see. A distraction... A distraction… Hmm. Yes, that will do nicely. Excellent," said Kento as he tapped his fingers like Mr.Burns.

"OH MY STARS! I CAN'T BELEVE MIA BROUGHT HOME SEAFOOD WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE! THERE SHE GOES NOW!"

"MIIIIIAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" bellowed Cye. 

"That should do it." Kento whispered as he ran quietly for the oven. Kento put on the brakes and he skidded to a stop in front of the oven. Panting from fear, and from moving at the speed of light, he opened the oven door a crack.

DANGER! Kento leaped just a second ahead of the frying pan. It hit the floor in a loud crash. Kento looked up from his crouch quickly. Standing several feet away there was a terrible red aura emanating from Cye, his arm still stretched out from when he released the pan. Kento did what he did every time this happened.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" 

To Kento's credit he dodged the cauldron nicely, did a beautiful flip over the metal sieve, and even ducked several BOILING balls of water (when Cye is mad, water is mad). Sadly, he failed to notice the tree when he turned around to stick his tongue out.

BAM. And down he went. "Fool," muttered Cye, then as the aura faded, "And stay out of my kitchen!" SLAM. Cye didn't usually slam doors, but this was different. Because of Kento the taquitos had been done for three minutes and now they were over cooked. Cye would have wept, but he took consolation in the fact that he'd locked the door on the way in and dinner was being served without Kento. "I wonder where Rowen's gotten to. He's never late for dinner unless he's reading," Cye wondered aloud. Ryo looked up from his meal, "When did you last see him Cye?" "Just as he left for a walk. About an hour ago." Sage drank some water and swallowed _before_ speaking, (a skill that most of the house hold lacks), "Did he have a book with him?" "I don't think so," answered Cye. 

Mia turned to Sage, "Sage, has anything been bothering him lately? Maybe he needed to work off a little steam, you know?" "You are his closest friend Sage. What do you think?" asked Ryo. Sage stared down at his plate in deep concentration. Aside from a pillow fight over the cute girl at the mall before bed, nothing about Rowen stuck out in his memory. He seemed perfectly Rowen. 

"Nothing… Nothing comes to mind. But then, Rowen isn't known for 'sharing' his feelings. If something is bothering him, then he likes to work it out on his own and not let on that he's upset. He can be complicated at times, but that's what's really unique about Rowen. He's as complex as those problems he solves. Sometimes more so…" Sage snapped his head up and grinned. "Rowen's anything but dumb. If he needed us, he'd come to us. So maybe he found a cute hiker and they're watching the stars." Everyone fell down with sweat drops.

"Come now, be serious! He's no Casanova like you Sage." Mia said. The smiles appeared around the table. "Hey, haven't we forgotten something here?" Cye asked.

I won't beg you too review… yet… Next chapter, what everyone forgot!


	3. Sifting Through

* * *

    Kento vaguely thought 'Ow' as he slipped out of consciousness. After five or so minutes, Kento was fast asleep. As he slept, he began to slip into the world of dreams. Kento dreamt of flying to the Mongolian BBQ on Isaki Drive, but within moments something else was clawing at his unconscious.     Kento tossed a little and his face scrunched up in annoyance, but the nagging feeling became stronger. A blue expanse rushed up beneath him and without warning he was trapped in an entirely different dream. 

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    Rowen crept around the corner, being careful to avoid the mess on the floor. The sleeping form on the couch breathed in deep ragged breaths and exhaled foul ones. Rowen resisted the urge to hold his nose and focused all of himself to the carpet. Over the beer bottle, down with the toes. Over the dirty laundry, down came his left foot. He was nearly to his book now. Rowen cursed his father again for taking it. He hadn't done anything wrong.     His thoughts drifted back a half-hour. A Tale of Two Cities was nearly over, Mr. Sydney Carton was being led to the guillotine and Rowen had to know what was going to happen next. No book had ever held his attention like this before. However, he'd been so caught up in the story that he hadn't noticed the time. His father slammed the door hard as he entered the kitchen. Without a word he turned and headed straight for the refrigerator. Rowen's face froze in terror as he realized his mistake. Rowen never dared come near his father after work. His mother had warned him how stressful the day left him, and that he should try to stay out of the way until he had wound down or she had gotten home from her job. "What are you doing?" asked his father. It seemed safe to answer so Rowen said, "Reading my book." His father sniffed in disgust. "And what about that mess in the living room? Huh? What about that?! I suppose you were too busy reading to concern yourself with it!" He seized the book from Rowen's hands. "You can have this back when you learn some responsibility. Now get out of here!" Rowen had walked to his room quickly, gone in, and turned off the light. On his bed he had waited forever, until he heard his father snoring.     Now it was time to reclaim his story. Rowen knew very well how stupid this was, he thought he should probably just turn around right now and not risk aggravating his father. But something in him said no, not this time. As Rowen rounded the couch to the desk where his book lay, he saw his reflection in the mirror. He looked old for an eight-year-old. Kento continued staring around the room and at the young Rowen in utter bafflement, it seemed as if he wasn't even there. _Rowen reached out for his book and felt his fingers go numb from the rush of holding it again. Carefully he made his way back out of the living room.     Without warning the telephone started ringing and his father was up like a bolt. Dazed, confused, and completely drunk he whirled toward Rowen with frantic eyes. Rowen ran as fast as he could, tripping and stumbling, sending papers, bottles, and clothes flying. His father howled angrily. Rowen was to the stair case when he sensed something coming. The telephone brought him down as it blew across his left shoulder. Rowen scrambled onto his back and looked up to see the man coming towards him, knocking over the lamp, kicking things in his path everywhere...
_

    Sabishisa recoiled, but she was to slow. She'd opened the wrong memory and had paid the price by reliving the experience with him. His memories of the Dynasty had been straightforward; easy to follow, but now she had inadvertently stumbled into something that had been buried deeper than any battle with Talpa.     "You have stopped. Why?" a male's voice asked. It was deep and resonated off the walls of the spacious room, lending a feeling of strength and power to this mysterious voice coming from a top a throne in a deserted throne room. "Wrong memory. I apologize for the waste of time," she said. Sabishisa realized she had jerked away so violently that she was now on the floor several feet from where she'd been standing. As she moved back toward the still form she gave away no trace of fear, but inside she was shaking. She felt as if that hulking demon had been coming down on her. _I'm letting myself get to close to his mind, to familiar. I must focus… The Master's growing impatient, I can sense it. Even with every barrier he has against me, I can still read him. I simply know him to well…     
_The man behind her rose and silently walked to the hall that connected to the great room. Without pausing in the resuming of her task, she asked, "Is that all?" "Yes," he answered pausing at the archway. "You have told me all I need know of Inferno, Talpa, and the race of Ancients. You may continue searching his mind if you sense anything of interest. I have matters to tend to," he turned sharply and his cloak furled loudly. "Hold for a moment! What should I do with him once I'm through?" A pause.     "You say they no longer posses the armor because they believe there is no need for it? Well then. Return him quickly so that we may convince them otherwise." His footsteps resumed and echoed down the hall. "All five will be needed to summon Inferno. Sweet dreams Sabishisa."     Sabishisa waited a few moments, then sighed relief. No more pressure was on her to discover the secrets of the battle between Inferno and Talpa. She surveyed the room and glared at the candles on the walls. Light made her uneasy; absorbing it was unavoidable and it always made her skin crawl. She looked to the stars above through the large open windows. Slowly the reflection of the candles lighting the room dwindled away to nothing within her large empty eyes. With the room lit dimly by starlight she let a large pillow materialize next to the table upon which the boy lay. Sabishisa relaxed herself into the pillow and took deep cleansing breaths, releasing all the fear and tightness from her chest. Her mind became tranquil as she absorbed the darkness of the room, (and the sensation of no other thoughts.)     She looked down upon him. A blue strand of hair, long and tangled, was lying across his nose. The room began to get chillier as a breeze picked up outside. Absent-mindedly she picked up the lock and twisted it around her forefinger. She drifted back toward his mind, ignoring everything else. _You've sparked my curiosity Rowen, now I need to know how that night ended. _She shifted herself back to the memory from earlier. Carefully she avoided the event and searched for the feelings that came afterwards. The memory opened itself to her before she could stop it.     _Rowen sat alone on the roof. He had no memory of how he had gotten there, and he didn't care. He clutched his wounds as they throbbed and bled. His mind was racing and his heart pounding out of control. He wiped at his eyes and choked down the sobs trying to tear free from his throat.      A bright gleam caught his eye. His right eye trailed up to it. It was a star. White and lovely it gleamed at him. Rowen tried to brush the blue hair out of his eyes then gave up and reached into his pocket to take out a hair band. Pushing it on he stared at the night sky. He knew this constellation. He moved his lips to form the word: Aquarius. His eyes trailed the sky: Pisces. He sniffed quickly and wiped his eyes, trying to ignore the feeling in his stomach. Gemini. Virgo. His mind grew tranquil as he searched the sky and found familiar friends. He forced a grin and kept it up for each constellation. Slowly his eyes grew heavy, the stars began blurring together and their pale light had a soothing effect that he couldn't resist any longer. His breathing calmed and his eyes closed.     Time moved and it was 3 in the morning. A frost was settling everywhere, but Rowen was warm. The wounds that had covered him were healing nicely, and the deep blue was just fading from his brow…     
_Sabishisa grinned, "So you're fond of the night as well? We're not so different Ronin."     Hours had passed since he had gone missing. It was time to return him and begin the battle. There was nothing else to be learned from this one. Now this warrior would surrender his armor or die. The choice was his, but it was obvious he would choose death. She chuckled lightly, "fool". A weakling such as this would be no match for her and the Ruler of the Nether Realm. That he had survived this long with his pitiful sense of ideals was incredible. If he embraced just a bit more of that side of himself that loved the night, he would lose every laughable ideal he clung to in a second.     A breeze came through the windows that caused Rowen to shiver and stir. Sabishisa stood and walked out of the room. A moment later she returned holding a blanket in one arm. She draped it over him and pushed the irritating lock of blue hair into the spot he liked it best.

    _Rowen! _Kento sat straight up, arms flailing. _A dream? Naw. I don't buy that. Something is wrong here._ Kento raised an eyebrow as his eyes scanned the horizon. The woods were peaceful, the lake calm, the grass swayed a little in a warm breeze, the trees cast shadows in the moonlight. Nothing out of the ordinary. The stars were shinning brightly. Then brighter. _Wha…?_ The stars began to fall. And Rowen's scream echoed through Kento's ears.

    As Rowen had awoken, the first thought to cross his mind was how intricate the branches above him looked. His mind pondered them more as the fog lifted. _Too many to count all at once. So complex. They're very lovely when they cast their pattern on the ground, either from moonlight or sunlight... _    A moment later he came to his senses and was up like bolt, head darting back and forth for the enemy. He could sense, almost smell, the alien energy in the air. It hung stagnant, a sickening feeling swept over him when it touched to his power, yet the Strata power pulled at it, trying to absorb it.     A shadow fell upon him and he looked straight into the sky. A young woman floated there. She was slight of figure, and pale as the moon. Her eyes were an endlessly deep blue-green, and dark as the night sky. Her long pale purple hair was tied loosely in a black ribbon, and was flapping in the breeze. Her garments were plain. A jacket of dark leather buttoned over her blue blouse, and her trousers looked more of the bottoms to a training gi, but matched the blouse.     Rowen attempted to think, but all that registered was a gawk. He tried to think again, but felt far too tired to puzzle this all out. Something in the back of his mind was pulsing, most likely the answer to what was going on. That or what to do next, but Rowen found himself glaring hard, not caring.     "GO AWAY!" he screamed. Sabishisa took on a look of shock. She'd planned her reactions carefully to anything he might say. She had a million quick witted responses and now they'd all be going to waste. She opened her mouth, but was cut off. "We just killed Talpa, we don't need this!!! I have high school FINALS coming, I'm trying to make it into the COLLEGE of my choice and now…" his mind cleared and the answers flooded in, "YOU'RE SEARCHING THROUGH MY MIND… WITHOUT. MY.PERMISSION!!!" Sabishisa let her mouth hang open. Somehow her mission of intimidating the ronin warriors was taking a turn. She couldn't even get past the first one!     "I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE TRYING TO CONQUER THE WORLD! FOR THE LOVE OF OUR ACADEMICS GET OVER YOURSELVES AND JUST… BUGGER OFF!!!"     She grinned deeply. "Die."     A nebula surrounded her as her clothes melted away and were replaced by a thin plate armor covering. Reaching to her scabbard she drew forth a mighty bastard sword that had matierialized with the armor, and screamed, "Star Kaji Blaze!"     The stars grew brighter then fell from the sky straight at Rowen.


End file.
